Jake Burkey – Rock Rod Garage Episode 3

Jake Burkey and the Riot Buggy

If you have been watching our Rock Rods Tech Tip videos then you are already familiar with Jake Burkey. On this episode of Rock Rod Garage we are taking you behind the scenes so you can get to know more about his story and how he got into the sport of rock bouncing. I first met Jake Burkey at the Dixie Run way back in 2011. He was the only person crazy enough to hit the Bounty Hill at Golden Mountain in a Jeep! He rolled not once but twice down the hill before calling it a day. The old CJ7 had been through many transformations through the years of Jake owning it. It had a full cage, 6.0l v8 engine and 1 ton axles when we met him and he drove it just like a rock bouncer.

Jake realized his Jeep just was not going to cut it with his driving style so he purchased a chassis and started his new build. He decided to call it the Riot Buggy in protest of all of the bad things going on in the world today. It featured a built 500hp 6.0l 366cid engine that ran through a Turbo 400 trans and Atlas Transfer Case. A Dana 60 front axle and 14bolt rear axle put the power to the ground. All of these parts were pulled out of the old Jeep and repurposed into the new bouncer. This was just phase one of the build it is a completely different rig today.

Jake is originally from Columbia, Tennessee but now resides in Augusta, GA where he works for a construction company. Even though he lives far from the races Jake is committed to the sport of rock bouncing. He and Travis the Hitman Lovett team up to make some long trips all over the country to race. One of the most unique things about Jake is that he loves wrenching so much that he actually lives in a shop. He has converted the office of the shop into a dorm room like space and spends all of his spare time wrenching. Only a true gearhead would have more shop space than living space. Somehow Jake make’s it work.

One thing about Jake is when it comes to off road motorsports he knows his stuff. That is why we partnered with him to do the Rock Rods Tech Videos. In these videos he goes through the what, how, and why when it comes to aspects of building an off road vehicle. Jake is also a partner in Busted Knuckle Off Road which is our new Parts website for Jeeps, Rock Bouncers, and UTVs. Jake is a guru when it comes to building a rock bouncer so if you need any parts for your build be sure to give us a call.

Check out the video below to see the latest changes Jake has made to make the Riot Buggy even more competitive.